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This week was an extremely productive one in the House of Representatives. Most importantly, both the House and the Senate passed the final version of the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution, a document that lays out our most important national priorities for the years to come. The budget is a blueprint for a job-creating economic recovery built on the solid foundation of affordable access to health care, energy independence, and a well-prepared workforce. It makes vital investments in healthcare access, cutting-edge energy research, clean energy jobs, a modernized national energy grid, education in the vital years of early childhood, Pell Grants to help young Americans achieve their dreams of college, and many more important priorities. It is also a fiscally-responsible budget that cuts our national deficit by nearly two-thirds by 2013.
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Majority Leader Hoyer and leaders of the Democratic Blue Dog
Coalition hold a press conference on the federal budget plan. |
But the budget wasn’t the only important legislation we passed this week. A bill to prevent hate crimes helps law enforcement prosecute those who attack others merely because of who they are; its protections reaffirm our central American values of tolerance and respect for differences. And yesterday, the House passed a bill to prevent some of the most abusive practices used by credit card companies to unfairly target their customers.
Next week, we will continue to focus on this recession, its causes and solutions, and the steps we need to take to prevent a collapse like this from recurring. The House will consider legislation to crack down on mortgage fraud and predatory lending, some of the dangerous practices that have contributed to our recent wave of foreclosures. And we will also debate the establishment of a commission to examine the recession’s causes in detail and explain those causes to the American people, so that we can all draw lessons that will serve us in the months and years to come.
As America marks the end of President Obama’s first 100 days, I think that one of the most important changes is a newfound confidence that this recession can be beaten, and that our government is taking the serious action these hard times demand. I can see that new confidence here in the Capitol—and I hope you can see it where you are.
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